So, this happened at SXSW Sunday afternoon. I’m on the trade show floor next to a booth selling cases to harden your iPhone against the elements, a crowd gathers in a nanosecond, I look up and there’s NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

I’m not particularly a basketball fan, but Shaq is Shaq so I snapped a few pictures. I don’t know what he was doing there, probably just taking in the show like everyone else. He visited a few booths, was mobbed at every stop, and then found a way to disappear. Being famous does have its prices, and one of those is that you can’t just walk about and check out cool stuff without creating a stir.

I get back home and post one of the pics to Facebook. Then the pic becomes a story. A conservative Facebook friend rips into Shaq for being a “dummy.” Laying the negativity aside, Shaq is no dummy. Many pro athletes make millions of dollars during their careers, but squander it on partying or get bamboozled out of it all. Shaq hasn’t let any of that happen to him. He has parlayed his court success into business success. I point that out, the Facebook friend rips into Shaq’s politics.

Again, with the negativity. Over a trade show iPhone photo.

Frankly, the pointless negativity has me wondering if that attitude isn’t a big part of our problem on the right. There are good reasons to be down since November, I’m not saying that there aren’t. But how does getting down on every last little thing serve any useful purpose? How should we expect anyone to see our point of view past any of us acting like we just sucked a lemon?

I agree with the negative tone the "conservative" side of politics emanates. It seems everything the other side does is ripe for negative comments, no matter how trivial. The reason we have garnered the mantel of party of no is more than the DC arm...Someone once opined that you can catch more flies with honey. An attitude adjustment, to some degree, is in order.

Very good points Bryan but 1%ers like Shaq must be brought into line with the new utopia. I don't know what kind of car he drives but if it's not a 1999 Ford Ranger he must sell it (them) and give the money to the state so they can disperse it in accordance with the principles of fairness and social justice.

His home, of course, should be subdivided into Section 8 apartments with his lawn being made into public open space or a community garden.